Starting a Business? Now?

Utah bankruptcies are up 25% (40% nationally), stocks are bipolar on a good day and trending downward, the Fed has savagely cut rates (and will do so again today) and seems bent on reducing the value of the dollar below that of toilet paper, and we're probably already in a recession. Sounds like it's time to start a business.

Huh? Rife, has your choo-choo jumped the tracks? Nope. Think about it for a second. How secure is your job in this economy? If it can simply disappear overnight (Let's all join with Bob the Builder: "Can it vanish? Yes it can."), how much extra risk is there in doing it yourself?

The real question is whether you have something people will pay for. No, really pay for. The legions who joined the real estate and mortgage industries in the last few years are now back out of those industries because they were just riding the wave, not bringing real value. In this economy, it comes down to what you bring.

If you have something to offer, you might as well offer it and get paid for it. You should also set things up properly right from the start. I've seen way too many businesses with good things to offer go down the tubes because of an insurmountable legal or accounting problem that would have been simple to fix earlier. Get professional help. And with any luck, that won't include psychiatric, at least not for awhile.